Presentation software was once only used by businesses, and those who worked with it had to be specially trained to do so. Now, it's intuitive and user-friendly enough for even the novice computer user to incorporate into his daily life. Choosing the best presentation software will heavily depend the goals of the user. His or her abilities in working with the software will also guide him or her to a suitable choice. When selecting software, users should have both a clear understanding of their intended tasks and of their familiarity with presentation software functionality and features.

Educators may find that the best presentation software is that which allows them to make supplemental materials for the classroom. Features that aid in the replacement of chalkboards, posters, flip charts, overhead transparencies and antiquated slides can help organize lessons, streamline lectures, and save time by allowing the instructor to teach rather than pause and physically set up and use supplemental materials. Some software may be capable of printing out slides so that students can have another visual aid in front of them while lectures takes place.

For business owners who wish to use presentation software during meetings, the best choice may be one that is interactive. Business owners or managers who rely on employee feedback may appreciate the built-in audience response mechanisms that some software offers. For large businesses with locations around the world, certain software choices can allow for presentations to be conducted remotely like with web-conferencing.

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The best software for the personal user is likely that which showcases digital photography and video in a slideshow format. Limitless decorative options that help users personalize slideshows can make presentations unique and memorable. Users may also be able to save their work in preferred formats and make copies of the presentations so that they can share them or give them away to friends or relatives.

For users who are not technologically inclined, the best presentation software is a program that already includes clip art images and templates. In these types of software programs, everything that is needed to create a presentation is already at the user's fingertips. Users simply need to enter their content and decide on a few options to have the program generate a viable presentation for them.

Discuss this Article

eideticPost 5

@indemnifyme - I think you're right that good presentation software should be cost effective. However, I think you have to consider quality also. It's no good to get free presentation software that doesn't work well. Then you'll end up losing hours when you could be working trying to get the software to work!

indemnifymePost 4

I think the best presentation software is both cost effective and easy to use. Most businesses and schools aren't going to want to spend a ton of money on presentation software, so price should definitely be considered. And of course, if no one knows how to use the presentation software, it's completely useless!

MonikaPost 3

@Azuza - You're right that most people don't get a choice as to the presentation software they use, unless they're the ones running the show! Most businesses make a specific kind of presentation software available to their employees, so employees don't get to decide what the best photo presentation software is! They just use what they're given.

AzuzaPost 2

Unfortunately, a lot of people don't get to choose their own presentation software. When I was in college and had to do presentations, my professors usually specified a certain type of presentation software that had to be used.

I'm pretty sure they limited us to one program because that was the program that was on the computer in the classroom. So, if we had chosen a different type of presentation software, the computer might not have been able to read the file.

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